enough calories?

I'm trying to decide if I am getting enough calories. I'm still really new after my surgery, only a couple weeks out.  My doctor has me on 1/4 cup of food 3 times a day.  Well eating chicken and fish and ground beef etc, I'm only getting around 200 calories a day from that. I have been feeling really tired, and have had a couple instances of being dizzy when i stand up too quick.  Is this something that you have experienced? Should I talk to my Doctor or is this pretty common? I have an appointment with my doctor next week, and the surgeon the week after, so I can ask them then, but I was just wondering if others had experienced similar things. Thanks Scott

I averaged around 300 calories per day for the first 3 months and in retrospect it wasn't enough. My hair started falling out and obviously I felt weak as well. Probably should have been somewhere around 700 or so. Just make sure the calories you're getting are mostly protein.  Feeling dizzy when you stand up too quickly is relatively common as well but just let your doctor know about everything that's going on when you meet him/her.

Do you have a nutritionist (NUT) associated with a bariatric program through a hospital?  If you are following their plan, along with vitamins and protein supplements, I would think you are in good hands.  That is the same amount of food I was on for the first month post-surgery, but I also drank protein supplements to reach a minimum of 75 grams per day for the first six weeks.  I still take protein supplements but have backed off from the initial amount.

I would discuss the dizziness with my doc after taking my blood pressure, sitting and standing, a number of times.

Good Luck,

CB

Every doctor or program has their own philosophy about various issues, but personally, it sounds like not enough food to me.  On mine, the plan was strained liquids for 3 weeks, purees for 2 weeks, soft foods for 2 more, then a "normal" diet, soft or hard, whatever didn't make you sick.  No added sugars, low fat type foods, high in protein. But, we were supposed to have 3 meals and 3 snacks a day.  A "meal" is between 3/4 to 1 cup total volume, and a "snack" is 1/4 to 1/2 cup in volume. On the pureed diet, which is probably where you are roughly 2 weeks out, a "meal" would consist of something like: 1/2 cup pureed chicken (we could make it into something like chicken salad with ff mayo and some seasonings if desired) 1/4 cup pureed starchy something -- mashed potatos, cream of rice, something like that 1/4 cup pureed non-starchy something -- carrots, green beans A "snack" would be: 4 oz of sugar-free ff yogurt OR 4 oz unsweetened apple sauce  That being said, at 7 weeks out, I'm still struggling to get in nearly enough, especially with protein sources, which make me queasy just thinking about sometimes. If you're having issues with being dizzy, etc, it could also be a low blood sugar problem, especially if since you are essentially eating no carbs.  We were/are allowed fruit juices in moderation, which really helps to with blood sugar issues.  You might want to check with your drs about that.

You might be experiencing a protein-deficiency, among other things. I know that when I first started hitting the gym hard, I wasn't eating much at all. I wasn't hungry (being on these diet pills) so I wasn't getting much protein at all.

I was irritable, weak and would get bad headaches all the time. I started drinking a protein supplement about half hour before my workouts and have since been feeling much better. Of course, I'm also more conscious about my intake of protein which has made a big difference.

Try pumping up your protein intake over the next few days and see if that helps.